#BinibiniBiyernes: Marife Janopol

Marife Janopol is a 19-year-old student of Rizal Technological University, College of Education. She openly advocates body positivity and #EndRapeCulture through her art. Marife believes that self-portraits are a way to express and explore yourself comfortably and playfully.

How did you consider taking self-portraits as self-expression?

“Before, I was struggling on how to express my thoughts since my talentless mindset before was always this-- i cannot sing, dance, paint. Until I realized that my body itself is an art so why not explore it. I researched a kind of art form, which is nude art and I found out that most of my ideas, which I was keen to paint in a canvas, are very much allowed to show with my body. In our society, our bodies are very much sexualized and people view it as an object to please themselves. With self-portraits, I can freely express myself that my (our) body is more than that.”

Your recent photo series about the message depicting the abused victims of rape and sexual assault, can you tell us more about it?

“That day, may sinend sakin kaibigan ko na pwedeng maging inspiration sa nude art --- may body paint yung picture. Nung nag-iisip na ako ng puwedeng gawin/concept, bigla kong narinig boses ng isa sa mga abuser ko. From that, nilagay ko yung palm ko sa paint and started to imprint it sa part na hinawakan niya ko--- kusa na lang pumwesto kamay ko sa parts na hinawakan ako without my consent hahaha. During the shooting, naalala ko lahat and natawa na lang ako when I realized na all those imprints were from different people and they probably have no idea na their hands are still on me. After shooting those photos, yung mga pintura lang of course ang nabura pero yung kamay nila nandun pa rin.”

What is your message to young Filipinas who’d like to experiment with nude art?

“In our society, we are raised to conform to the social standards of how women should be like, and if we fail to do so, we are put into shame i.e. slut-shamed, body-shamed. Living in a conservative country like the Philippines, women's bodies are still viewed as a representation of sin where showing your skin is considered a sinful act. With nude art, we can change this perception and open a conversation to break this taboo. Doing nude art gives me back the power and control over my body and sexuality that has been brushed off by my abusers and the society. Once you have realized that it is you who has that power, nobody can bring you down. Exploring nude art will help you feel more comfortable with the body you have and allows you to express the emotions that you can not put into words.

On the side note, I am not encouraging Filipinas 18 years old below to explore it yet for we have RA No. 9775 or the Anti Child Pornography.

Let us break this taboo and unrealistic social standards of how women should be like and show them the naturally beautiful body of women.”